Bumble ditches its rule that kept men from making the first move
Dating app Bumble is removing its signature requirement that women must send the first message in heterosexual matches. The company is also extending the response window from 24 to 72 hours to reduce user pressure and improve the overall dating experience.
Why it matters
This represents a significant pivot for a major tech platform that built its brand identity around a specific gender-based social dynamic, reflecting changing user preferences in the digital dating market.
Bumble is officially giving up on the rule that made it, well, Bumble.
The dating app announced Tuesday that anyone in a match can now send the first message, ending the women-message-first requirement that has been one of the company’s defining features for more than a decade.
Bumble is also giving matches 72 hours to respond, up from 24, in an effort to take some of the pressure out of coming up with a response in a short time frame. The longer window gives people more flexibility to reply, rather than feeling like they need to check the app constantly or risk a match disappearing.
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